


Things Left Unsaid

by little_shinra



Series: Shukita Week 2019 [3]
Category: Persona 5
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Androids, Anxiety, Eventual Romance, Gen, Hiding Medical Issues, I Don't Even Know, M/M, Medical Conditions, Platonic Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2019-12-25 13:37:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18262397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/little_shinra/pseuds/little_shinra
Summary: “In this world, corporations reign supreme, all human life is infected with nanomachines designed to oppress them, and the terrifying White Knights ensure that everyone obeys the laws.”…As usual, this tale is not about those people.Day 3 of Shukita Week 2019: Cherry Blossoms/Things Left Unsaid





	Things Left Unsaid

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I originally had a plan for this prompt. Then everyone decided to run off and demand an insane amount of build up to said original plan. How dare...
> 
> Va-11 Hall-A is one of my favorite games and the AU slithered its way in and took me by the ankles when brainstorming for this day's prompts. Those that have played the game will probably see a number of references scattered around the AU setting (aside from Glitch City being the stage for this tale). I fell immediately in love with the concept of Yusuke being a Lilim, the androids of the world, and wanting to explore more about Lilim based on the pieces of info the game devs gave us.
> 
> Random note: In this AU, Madarame wasn't an asshole! What a concept! (Don't expect him to appear though, just wanted to share that detail cause early context.)
> 
> Kudos and comments are greatly appreciated! Enjoy!

_“In this world, corporations reign supreme, all human life is infected with nanomachines designed to oppress them, and the terrifying White Knights ensure that everyone obeys the laws.”_

…As usual, this tale is not about those people.

The place in mind is Glitch City, a young, large metropolis where prices are inflated to ridiculous degrees, violence and civil unrest are a regular occurrence, and the citizens keep on moving with their personal lives.

Even in a world of perpetual tension, there are places where one can forget and focus on the food and drink given before them. These little crevices were coveted by those that found them and took well to the solace and service provided. Whether that service was alcohol, companionship, or even a song, there was a place.

It just waited to be found.

-

White steam flowed out the Lilim’s mouth in the early morning chill. He let out another long, deep breath, moving his head to watch the direction of that steam. The walk sign changed and the crowd around him pushed past, pulling him from his temporary bubble. The young male Lilim followed with them, passing the groups that stopped at the corner for the next signal or went to the opposite direction of the block.

On the street clock, the time was a quarter past the morning hour. The Lilim was minutes away from arriving to his destination. He felt a pressure on his shoulder and reached back there. Nothing. He looked behind him. Nothing or no one. Brushing it aside, the Lilim followed the sidewalk, legs on autopilot.

The Lilim in question went by the name of Yusuke. It was given to him by his adoptive father when he was deployed as a companion, an assistant, and an inheritor to a childless artist. His destination was not toward home, but to an establishment dedicated to an atmosphere that is lost on the concrete streets of Glitch City. A location that stood off the main roads and took residence in a corner of a side street. A café by the name of Le Blanc held the appearance of a long forgotten and antiquated food and drink restaurant, held in its own time bubble as the rest of the city changed and morphed as a metropolis. It took any that entered into a simpler time, allowing customers to leave the stress of the city at the door and forget the problems they faced for a cup of coffee with a plate of homemade curry.

For Yusuke, it was a place he looked forward to every day. A place away from home to keep his mind busy as he worked away at logging inventory in, taking orders and payments from customers, and learning the ways of the café’s owner. The assortment of visitors never ceases to surprise him, showing him further the unpredictable nature of the world beyond the art it creates. Thinking of them all brought a smile to his face.

Yusuke stood by the door to the café, waiting for his employee to arrive. Early as always to his shift.

Akira, his employer, laughed at this at one point earlier in the year. “Sooner or later, I’m going to need to call upon you to get me here at your speed.”

“It wouldn’t be a problem. I don’t mind,” he responded. Akira handwaved as he pulled out the keys to the shop that day.

“I’m not going to let you burden yourself on my account.”

Yusuke didn’t understand why Akira would think of that as a burden. He was a care aid Lilim before working there. It was not past his designed capabilities. Akira didn’t elaborate on it after that.

Yusuke looked up and down the street as the seconds went slowly by. While Akira typically wouldn’t show till a quarter before the next hour, Yusuke kept a vigilant eye on the street clocks, his breath becoming more bated and prolonged in spaces as he braced himself. Twenty till the hour now. The pressure weighed heavier in his shoulder, wrapping around his upper arm. He absentmindedly rubbed at the area, eyes scanning the street.

Couple minutes left.

He hoped that nothing would be amiss.

The clocks landed at the quarter of the hour.

On cue, a familiar head of dark, curly hair wrapped in a red scarf came into view. Akira waved, keyring hanging off his thumb as he got closer. Yusuke felt a relief at his presence. The two exchanged morning greetings as Akira opened the shop.

Inside, Yusuke went straight to his duties, checking things were in working order before switching them on for the day’s incoming flow of customers. Akira was busy with the register screen, starting up the OS and logging them in. There was a noticeable bounce and energy in his movements as he went from one room to the next, getting the prepping ready for the café’s signature curry dish in the small kitchen.

“You seem lively today. Did you get enough rest, Akira?”

Akira went behind the bar, kneeling down to the music panel underneath the counter and hitting a couple buttons. He tuned the dial till he found a station he liked, filling the room with music.

“Hmm? Yeah. Managed to get a full night this time. It was almost unsettling, having the street be quiet,” he stretched, pushing his hands upward.

Yusuke understood what he meant. It wasn’t easy finding a place in the city that was silent of the near constant noise of conflict and exuberance of the civilians residing and passing by. Akira has on several occasions arrived to work half haggard from sleep deprivation and still took lead on his duties, against Yusuke’s offers to take over for him. At the end of the day, Akira would even find the floor comforting to rest on, leaving Yusuke crestfallen for failing to be more insistent in elevating Akira’s burdens. For the street to be so silent, it was possible the White Knights may have been summoned to clear out the area, for the whimsy of the higher branches that controlled them.

Familiar smells wafted into the room. Ingredients were washed, cut, distributed into the pot, and sealed in with the lid. Akira stepped away from the small kitchen once the rice was set, wiping his hands with a small towel that returned to a pocket on his apron. All done with an enduring pleased look. Yusuke couldn't resist the grin on his face. Akira's smiles were contagious and the trait that he loved most about the man. The presence of them have bought him aid through his troubling periods of melancholy over the last year. More than most, Yusuke feared the day they’d fade away from his life.

Akira gave him a questioning look, to which Yusuke shook his head. At this rate, his staring is going to be a concern. The Lilim sat at the reg screen open at the farthest end of the counter from the entrance. With a few habit inputs, the cafe's inventory appeared alongside lists of incoming stock and orders. The beginning portion of the winter month called for inspection of supplies and finances taken in in anticipation of the approaching new year, and the Mega Christmas holiday. It would be Yusuke's first to celebrate away from home and the anticipation for the shop party was felt in the air among the patrons like the snowy air outside.

Keeping a small eye on the screen of his previous day's work, Yusuke waited for any requests Akira may give him, however few they were. Having Akira relieve some of his work over to the Lilim was equally a challenge as he had faced with his adoptive parent at home. Both insisted continuing their roles, even when their bodies spoke otherwise, and others offered their aid.

In his internal system, a warning message played. Something malfunctioned, affecting the neural connections to one of his limbs. Remembering the pressure in his shoulder, Yusuke touched the area. It must’ve been a recent connection failure, given he has received a bill of health at the monthly check-ups all Lilim underwent a week prior. It didn’t seem to affect more than his tactile registration (an easily managed concern), so he filed the matter away. He can run a home inspection after his shift is over.

The hanging bell over the door pulled him back to present.

Akira had finished putting up the doodles and deals on the fold out sign and went outside to put it up. Yusuke hurried behind toward the main shop windows, their shutters locked into place from the night before. An old security mechanism, but a tried and true one, as he was told in stories from regulars who either witnessed incidents of damage or their aftermath on the windows. Yusuke took the handles for the metal shudders and hoisted them up. The pressure clamped on his shoulder, shaking his grip, and the handle slipped from his hand, dropping the shutter back with a loud bang. Yusuke took them under his other hand and pushed them into place at the top of the window. He looked at his arm, noting the jitter.

_How is it this far? There were no signs of such damage at my routine checks._

Yusuke flexed his fingers, rotated his forearm at the elbow. Smooth as new from the factory line. The pressure kept itself to his shoulder and as he lifted his arm, the jitter returned. He let it fall, rubbing against the area. If it’s this bad, he’d be unable to help Akira with the heavy lifting. Akira watched him from outside, hands halfway up from the foldout sign. He opened the door, craning his head in.

“You okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. It’s a minor issue with my arm. I’ll check it in a bit when I finish updating the books today,” he returned to the screen. As Yusuke reached out, Akira put his arm down, his hand warm through Yusuke’s shirt sleeve.

“Let me see it,” Akira offered, pointing to the booth. When Yusuke hesitated, Akira turned him and led him to the chair by the shoulders. “Sit. Shirt off.”

Yusuke followed, setting his vest and shirt aside on the table as Akira ran his fingers over the affected area in search of the slip in the synthetic skin. Yusuke could feel every touch, every strike of tingling sensation as Akira unrolled the skin, exposing the inner workings of his shoulder. Yusuke felt his words stumble out his mouth.

“I can take care of it at home. I have an inspection bot.”

“ _Shoosh_.”

Yusuke clapped his mouth shut. It felt so strange, completely different from the thorough and analytical nature of the monthly inspectors. His body felt exhilarated and nervous. If he had lungs, would he pass out from the lack of breathing regulation, he wondered. Then the hands moved away, and Yusuke felt relief wash over him. At the same time, he already missed the warmth.

“Wait here,” Akira disappeared into the back room, with sounds of searching following him. Yusuke tested his arm again, moving it in different directions to assess the limits of the numbing pressure.

“Don’t move it!” Akira shouted from deep in the back room. Yusuke dropped it, like a naughty child caught in the act of stealing a cookie. Akira came back a moment later, a white tool box in hand before setting it on the table and digging through it.

“It’s not the best solution, but hopefully it’ll help it.”

Warm hands returned to his back, with fingers and a cool sensation shifting along the cords carrying the sensors. The numbness pulled away from his arm, easing the pressure gripping him where Akira’s fingers touched. Yusuke pushed his finger into the front of his shoulder, noting the restored input in his skin.

 _Ah_ , Yusuke thought. _That’s what Akira was doing._ Evoking the connection back to the area with a solution. Yusuke didn’t speak, letting himself focus on the tactility of the motions as they relaxed him. The radio changed to an antique song, echoey and blasted compared to the crisp, pristine music normally given in the music feeds.

_Que Sera Sera, what will be will be~_

_When I grew up and fell in love_

_I asked my sweetheart what lies ahead…_

Akira hummed to the tune as he focused on the task in front of him. He lubricated the area further before asking Yusuke to test his arm. It moved smoother than it did earlier, without hinderance.

Akira checked the repair, frowning. The cords that held a Lilim’s nerve circuitry were stinging hot to the touch, the wrapping worn down and eaten away, leaving frays of wire showing. After adding the solution to temporarily seal the damage, they were cooled down, barely warm inside as he handled them.

“For a Lilim, I’m surprised it got this bad.” Akira adjusted the wires back into place, then replaced the synthetic covering over it.

“Getting an upgrade part would be an option,” Yusuke spoke absentmindedly, slowly coming back to the present as the radio song came to the end.

_Whatever will be will be_

_The future's not ours to see_

_Que Sera Sera_

“Yes. Then you'd sulk non-stop about how it doesn't match up with everything else, that it’s too disparate. There, all done,” he gave Yusuke a satisfied tap and tossed the container back into the tool box. Yusuke pulled his shirt on, tucking it in his pants.

“I do that?”

“You have. I'd like to spare us both a repeat performance.”

“My apologies for the inconven-”

Akira covered Yusuke's mouth.

“Don't. Let's just sit and enjoy the quiet before the crowd comes in.”

Yusuke stood and fixed his vest over the shirt, smoothing his hands over it.

“... Thank you for helping me.”

Akira smiled and patted his head. “No problem.”

Yusuke felt something flutter in his chest. Akira returned the tool box to the backroom, then checked the stove pot, stirring it and adding additional items before closing it. He leaned over and eyed the flame as he adjusted the dial.

Yusuke brought the reg screen over and continued where he left off, sorting numbers and orders into the correct place as they streamed in. One order caught his eye, causing him to pause. He calmly moved it to a different screen, out of sight, as it didn’t apply to the shop itself. Yusuke would make sure to leave a note for Akira later to check it and make sure the dosage is correct. Though, he knew by the details that it was higher than the last one. And the one before that. It took him a moment to register the sound of the step ladder being open and set on the floor. He looked toward the direction of the sound and rose from his seat.

“Wait. Let me get it down,” he said, moving into the backroom. Akira waved him back without a glance.

“Let me do it, I just fixed your shoulder. You should be easy on it.”

“But it's so high.”

“No big deal. Nothing I can't handle.”

Akira hefted the box onto his shoulder, grabbing the bar of the step ladder to balance himself. Yusuke stood behind him, hands up ready to catch him or be handed the box. Akira stepped down, feet grounded on the floor, keeping the box in his arm. He searched through the bottles inside, hefting it with difficulty. Yusuke relieved him of the box and set it on the top of the step ladder. The ghost of a pout graced Akira's face before he went back into the box, gathering a couple bottles as he read through their labels and examined their contents.

“Could you add the mint leaf, masala chai, bronson and karmotrine flavor syrups to the stock order? At the rate Ohya and their friends are going, we're not gonna have any remaining by the end of the week.”

“Of course,” Yusuke returned to the screen, scrolling through and marking them in. “Your new drink recipe turned out to be a big hit after all.”

Akira groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face. “I was not expecting them to dry me out like that. I'm happy they enjoy it, but I'm gonna have to establish a limit of the number they can indulge during daily shop hours.”

Yusuke thought back to their words toward the drink. _‘A drink to kick our asses into gear in the morning, just without the alcohol.’_

“Their midday potion,” Yusuke thought aloud. “A rare bloom that shouldn’t be squandered or overtaken by greed and thirst. But a source that should be cared for with the greatest consideration to ensure its presence in the future. The potion itself should be given equal kindliness for the attention to its craft and existence. It would not be here otherwise without a skilled craftsman making splendor of the bloom’s greatest qualities.”

When he finished, Akira looked at him with wide eyes. Yusuke’s face reddened.

“Ah, sorry. I got carried away.”

Akira let out a laugh. “That’s a good way to put it. We should tell them that next time we seen them. Even if they won’t think the same.”  

“Please don’t. I’d prefer not to be made a target for their badgering.”

“If they do decide to sic their talons on you, just send them my way,” Akira patted his shoulder on the way out. He carried the box under his arm. “Now go enjoy the quiet. We know it won’t be that way for the next ten hours.”

Yusuke gave a halfhearted smile. He hoped this time, he’d let himself be stronger for Akira’s sake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Referenced songs:  
> Que Sera, Sera - Doris Day


End file.
